extraordinaire – is constantly surrounded by superstar musicians and artists in his daily routine within the numerous mixing and tracking studios he’s worked in over the past 15 years. However ironically, Ian is the complete opposite to today’s musical artist: humble, ego-less, unselfish, focused, non-dramatic, very professional, punctual and thankfully, full of talent. Usually, today you can’t seem to find an intern in the music business with even two of these rare traits. If you ran into Ian, or happened to sit down with him for a drink, you’d never know that he’s one of the top engineers in the country. There’s nothing flashy about him, but just get him in that studio ready to work on his next project or assignment, and it then becomes evident why. He’s the quintessential ‘behind-the-scenes’ maestro, enabling the music of others to shine in the limelight with outstanding quality in production.

Ian Boxill was born and raised in the most southerly nation in the Caribbean, Trinidad & Tobago. Trinidad is an island with a reputation for having the biggest annual carnival in the world, second only to Brazil’s carnival in Rio. Music infiltrating the streets or beaches is common to any kid growing up in the countryside or in the city, and Ian’s ears tapped into the variety of influential sounds, from the heavy onslaught of American soul and funk, to calypso and reggae on the radio, to the pulsating festival music of the steel drums and brass bands commanding the carnival season, and to even the heavy metal outfit he was once a part of in high school. It’s with this diverse background, shaping him every step of the way, coupled with his excellence in academics, that after high school, Ian enrolled at the renown University of Miami School of Music where he majored in Music Engineering Technology.

After graduating, he went on to work as a maintenance tech for just over a year, at Criteria Studios (today known as Hit Factory Studios). After starting off his career in Miami as a tech, he made the move to Los Angeles in 1993 and started his first true lead engineering role and professional career at Solar Records in Hollywood, California, home to a string of multi-platinum R&B artists and producers such as L.A and Babyface, Shalamar, Klymaxx, The Whispers, Midnight Starr, Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis and S.O.S. Band. For the next two years, he was the main engineer at Solar Records’ in house recording studio, Galaxy Sound Studios. While at Galaxy Sound Studios, Ian met two key mentors in his transition from being a maintenance tech in Miami to becoming an engineer/mixer/producer in Los Angeles, Dave Hampton, studio design and engineering consultant and producer Johnny “J” (2Pac, Bizzy Bone, Candyman) – two friends he developed strong relationships with, that would prove to be great assets for Ian’s career in the near future.

Ian then made his next move, becoming the chief engineer at the label/studio facility, Yab Yum Records/Tracken Place Studios, where between 1995-1998, he sharpened his production and mixing skills working with artists and producers such as Babyface, Diana Ross, Jon B, Tamia, After 7, Carl McIntosh (Loose Ends) and Jon John Robinson. After 3 years at Yab Yum, Ian’s growing reputation and proven talent in the industry, allowed him to become an independent mixer/producer with an impressive discography that encompasses many varied genres and artists. During his independent stint, Ian would record and mix almost all of Tupac Shakur’s posthumous Johnny “J” produced recordings on Interscope Records. It wasn’t long before Ian’s brilliant work caught the industry’s attention and he added a multitude of credits to his name that included: Prince, Quincy Jones, Janet Jackson, Aaliyah, P. Diddy, Me’Shell N’degeocello, Gladys Knight, KC & Jo Jo, Tyrese, Christina Milian and many others. For the last five years, Ian has spent almost all his time working with Prince. He traveled back and forth between Minneapolis and Los Angeles, where together with Prince, he engineered and mixed most of Prince’s recordings.

Over Ian’s 15-year career, his consistency in quality mixing and engineering has rewarded him with some honorable awards, including a Golden Globe in 2007 for Prince’s “Song of the Heart” for the movie, Happy Feet, and a 2008 Grammy award for another Prince song, “Future Baby Mama” which won in the Best Male Vocal Performance category. “The two names I’m proudest of when it comes to my body of work in engineering and mixing is Tupac Shakur and Prince – two legends in such different genres of music,” Ian calmly says. “These are two artists whose music I have worked on EXTENSIVELY, but clearly two artists whose works are worlds apart. It really gives me great satisfaction to have played such a significant role in the careers of these two historic music icons.”